“It was an instant ‘yes’ before I even read anything,” Lawrence said during a Toronto International Film Festival conference. “He told me his ideas and I thought they were brilliant and unique and challenging. I’ve been a fan of his for years — I think he’s bold and brave, and I think I said ‘brilliant.’

“Then I got a script and when I read it, I threw it across the room and told him he had severe psychological problems,” she noted.